Friday, December 16, 2005

Big Power in Small Actions

by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com

It was the last time I would be with him.
He had us all over for a brunch... it was about 12 of us.
I was seated immediately to his left. He asked me,
"May I serve you?"
I was somewhat taken back by his question as he put the first serving of the brunch on my plate.

Shortly after that, he was off to Washington, D.C. for the swearing in of his son as a U.S. Senator... of which he was very proud. On the way back from Washington, Dr. Ashcroft died while visiting his other son in Kansas City.

"May I serve You?" A man of accomplishment, stately stature, cultured and educated was asking to serve me... a person of little notoriety, unrefined culturally, just trying to find my way around in the world.

"May I serve you?"

Fred was Mark Sanborn's mailman. Fred so impressed Sanborn with his remarkable, personal service as a U.S Postal carrier, Sanborn wrote a book about Fred's service... The Fred Factor. Mark Sanborn is a professional speaker and has used Fred as an example of how personal service builds acclaim… based on one simple offer:
"May I serve you?"

Here's what he learned from Fred's distinctive, personal conscientious service... that will make us all distinctive.
1. Everyone makes a difference.
"There are no insignificant or ordinary jobs when performed by significant or extraordinary people."
2. Success is built on relationships.
"Service becomes personalized when a relationship exists between the provider and the customer."
3. You must continually create value for others, and it doesn't have to cost a penny.
"Replace money with imagination; substitute creativity for capital."
4. You can reinvent yourself regularly.
"Choose each day to make your life like you want it."

"Things we do both small and large, cumulatively create a lifestyle that becomes apparent to anybody paying the slightest attention. It's the kind of examples that most influence others."

“Success is built on relationships.”
Quality relationships are directly related to the time invested. Be real, be interested, be a listener, be empathetic, be honest, be helpful, be prompt. Give the best time to your most important relationships.

Fred focused on the little things and took time to know his patrons.
(Note: www.fredfactor.com)

Jesus devoted His best time on His most important relationships. Jesus visited Matthew, the tax collector, at his house. Matthew later wrote the historical account of Jesus’ life… The Gospel by Matthew (a despised tax collector).

He spent time with Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary... His best of friends. He aborted an important trip and returned just to resurrect Lazarus who died.

He took His disciples off to the side regularly to explain to them what He was doing and why. In the last part of Jesus' life He spent as much time as possible visiting with His disciples and going over things... telling them His secrets about what was going to happen.

"We want to sit in places of honor next to you," Jesus disciples asked. Jesus answered, “For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many."(Mark 10:45, NLT)

Jesus had a loyal gang like none other. Even after His death they followed His teachings to their death. He distinctively "served" them. It created a bonding relationship that nothing on earth could break…this Jesus’ trait was Fred the mailman’s model.

The power of serving created unending relationships among Jesus and His followers. When we focus on "serving" others, we create resilient relationships as well.
How well do you know those who work with you… their passionate desires and dreams?
How well do you know your clients or customers?
What is “really” important to them?
Do you spend most of your time with your most important relationships?

With a servant’s heart, a loyalty is cultivated that is literally “death defying.” This is exceptionally powerful and invincibly significant.

“But among you, those who are the greatest should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Normally the master sits at the table and is served by his servants. But not here! For I am your servant. You have remained true to me in my time of trial.” Jesus told His disciples. (Luke 22:26-28, NLT)

When you serve others, others instinctively serve you. They will be the most loyal ones to you… staying beside you even through your trials. They will serve you with their best, as you serve them with your best.

By setting a servant example, you lay the foundation to create a serving culture in your business. It can start at any level and it will become contagious. A fantastic culture begins emerging, transforming your business environment.

Always remember. Jesus constantly whispers to you…
“May I serve you?”

Jesus Spirit spends time with you… His most important relationship.
“I am with you always” pulsates continually in the heart of your Spirit.


No matter what. He is always there.



Friday, December 09, 2005

Drucker Employed Jesus' Management System

by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com

Peter Drucker
“Called the Man who Invented Management,”
has been viewed as
the founding father of management theory for corporations today.

Business Week recently did a feature on his main contributions and management theories (Drucker died Nov. 11, 2005 at 95 years old.)

Here’s a capsule of what Business Week Reported:
The job to lead people is complex. Drucker taught the importance of picking the best people, focusing on opportunities and not problems, being alongside the customer, and how it is important to build and retain talented people. People want to express gifts and talents.
According to Drucker, this is the greatest "asset" of a business.

A business’ success is directly related to how it develops, organizes and mobilizes these abilities.

Over Drucker’s life he introduced these key business principles:
--the idea of de-centralization: leave as much decision making power where the decision needs to be made.
--workers are assets, not liabilities. They build the business for you.
--the corporation is a human community. Build on trust, respect for people and not just be a profit making machine.
--there is no business without the customer.
--it is important to have substance over style, institutionalized practices over charismatic, cult-like controlling leaders.
--knowledge triumphs over raw materials as the essential capital for the new economy.

The article goes on to say that Drucker was ahead of major corporation trends. His religion-like views on management are now just being recognized for the value they are. He felt it was important to find strengths, enlarge them, and develop business developments around the power of the team strengths you have.

Growing up in Germany during Hitler’s reign, he saw the long-term inherent menace of centralization, versus giving power to the people at critical decision making levels of the business. As Drucker aged, his doubts about capitalism grew. He saw it becoming plagued as a place where self-interest triumphed over egalitarian principles he championed.
(Egalitarian: Affirming, promoting, or characterized by belief in equal political, economic, social, and civil rights for all people)

He was one of Corporate America's grand critics. Although believing in the free market he began developing "serious reservations about capitalism." He became more and more disenchanted with capitalism. He argued that CEO pay had sky-rocketed out of control and that a “CEO should not get more than 20 times what his rank and file made.”

Drucker "was sickened by the excessive riches awarded to mediocre executives even as they slashed the ranks of ordinary workers." When managers and CEO's reaped excessive earnings, he said, "this is morally and socially unforgivable and we will pay a heavy price for it.”

The role of a company is to think in terms of “contribution.” What contribution can you make to your people, your customers, to bettering the community around you?

For more on Drucker, the link to the Business Week article is:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_48/b3961001.htm
Also, the link to Peter Drucker’s website:
http://www.peter-drucker.com/

Business leaders are people mentors.
Brad Anderson, Best Buy’s CEO, spends a great amount of time personally developing his people. “I would guess I coach 100 to 200 employees in a given month. I don't really think you can do the kind of leadership I do on a formal basis. It has to be genuine. I don't think you can force a human connection."
Brad Anderson’s favorite leadership book?
“The Bible.”

From Fortune magazine, Dec 12, 2005. (LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP, 10 Top Leaders Tell Their Secrets) http://www.fortune.com/fortune/ceo/articles/0,15114,1134796-9,00.html


What should a business be? What's its purpose, its focus.

Jesus shared views on this. The Apostle Paul elaborated.
Jesus said, "Beware! Don't be greedy for what you don't have. Real life is not measured by how much we own."
"Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God."
"He will give you all you need from day to day if you make the Kingdom of God your primary concern." (Luke 12)

"Sell what you have and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven have no holes in them. Your treasure will be safe--no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it." (Matt: 6:19)

Contribution and investment are the key words… Give to people, give to their lives, give to their well being as people. Invest your money and resources here. Develop and enhance their gifts and abilities. When you do they will reward you, naturally through Spiritual Incentive… Reward you graciously.

Drucker’s themes for what a business is about are also reflected in what the Apostle Paul said to Timothy:

“17 Tell those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give generously to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. 19 By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of real life." (1 Timothy 6, NLT)

As Jesus-inspired people, our goal in business is to develop those who work for us, cultivate their talents and gifts, move them on to develop Spiritual gifts, ultimately to contribute Super-Naturally to the world around us. We are part of the grand Body of Christ mix throughout businesses.

As One in Spirit, there is Heavenly Power. Our call and obligation is to Charge Up this Grandeur Power within this Body of Jesus, that God has placed in and around us.

As business leaders, managers, entrepreneurs, we are called to serve, to equip the gifts and mission of all we are responsible to corporately.

It is a new twist.
We exist to serve them. They are not ours to own.
We exist to stir up their gifts to the Highest Level possible.

This is the New Way introduced by Jesus.
Business Mission is about The Divine Plan for us as a unit.
Business is about His compassionate, empowering care for
cultivating the least of those among us
to be the Greatest with Spirit as a centrifuge of Power.

Drucker is so consistent to the teachings by Jesus and the Apostle Paul on what a Community in Spirit should be. It represents a higher calling for all those who serve the call of Jesus “through” business ventures.

Jesus' claim for His Community is
“you will walk the earth with Invincible Power!”


Friday, December 02, 2005

Buzz Marketing... The Jesus Buzz

By Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com

With so many mass media options out there, the concept of mass marketing is being re-thought.

Today the marketing leaders are recommending a new approach... using phrases
as cultivate sneezers, start a buzz, strategically re-create word-of-mouth. Of all the buzzes around, Jesus has the most powerful Buzz.

The Purple Cow by Seth Godin, suggests we find our sneezers.
Sneezers—they take time to learn about you, your product and are passionate about telling others. It's not about reaching everyone, but first rewarding the "sneezers" and getting them involved in the beginning…. be very good at marketing to the ones who really like what you do or have. He shares how he used this to effectively make the Purple Cow the most sought after marketing renaissance manual....
http://www.sethgodin.com/purple/chapter.html

Buzzmarketing by Mark Hughes suggests to start a buzz in a conversation. To get people to make your topic part of their conversation, you push one of the Six Buzz Buttons:
The taboo, the unusual, the outrageous, the hilarious, the remarkable, the secrets.

To read more about the buzz buttons click on "Push the Six Buttons of Buzz" at http://www.buzzmarketing.com/book.html

Still another book, just released, Grapevine: The New Art of Word-of-Mouth Marketing by Dave Balter, continues to advance this newly enhanced, stalwart marketing strategy of Word-of-Mouth. Get people talking about you to others... Make the consumer part of the marketing process is Balter's cornerstone premise.
http://www.sparklyperfect.com/grapevine/index.html

All these books are very relevant, powerful in how they relay their systems and worth taking a look at. Although, historically, one of the greatest buzz marketers in the world is still the Jesus Buzz.

Taking Mark Hughes six buzz factors we can see how Jesus used all of them and with great impact. It is still being talked about 2,000 years later. Now that is a power buzz.

The taboo: Jesus talked to a women with several husbands which was at His time very “politically inappropriate” to talk to. It even raised the eyebrows of His disciples. But she told the whole town about Jesus, and they all came out to meet him.
The unusual: A blind man from birth was healed by Jesus. All the religious leaders wanted to speak to the blind man to find out what happened… they never saw this happen before.
The outrageous: Everyone was outraged, even His disciples, when Jesus asked one of the biggest crooks in town to be part of His inner circle.
The hilarious: Jesus’ disciples must have had a tongue-in-cheek moment when they told others of how Jesus commanded demons to leave a person and they went into a whole herd of pigs who went squealing into a lake and drowned.
The remarkable: Walking on water, turning water to wine, and offering living water to prostitutes and undesirables was a little "out of the box" in going about things.
The secrets: Jesus told His disciples to keep it a secret that He was the Son of God. Nonetheless, the word of who Jesus was spread so rapidly He had to avoid public appearances because the crowds got big real fast.

Jesus' buzz still hums today. He walked in great Power to do this.

He promises that even today we have the same Power available to use.
Saying to us,
"I did this and You Can Too!"
"All things are (still) possible for those who believe." (Mark 9:23)

Believe:
Go against the grain of nature and traditions. Do something outrageously "good" and superior to mankind’s way of doing things.

Start your buzz… of Spiritual significance.

Jesus said to let your light shine among men.
Walk in His light...do what's Right,
unusually outrageously Right,
and get people talking about “good” stuff.

Do something remarkably “righteous” for your employees. People will notice. Form a task team to come up with ideas on what outrageous, remarkable thing you can do each month.

Do the same for suppliers and those who provide service to you. Show how the Spirit of Jesus is Superior in love, with an attraction that exceeds the trenches of the business world.

Do the unusual, the remarkable, break traditions, be outrageous.
Jesus’ Spirit will give you ideas that no one would come up with. People will notice and seek you out.

With Jesus power, modern day unbelievable happenings can be part of your biz buzz.

Rely on His Spirit and through the Spirit of Jesus in you and through God's Spirit, which orchestrates the whole world, you can walk on the business waters around you.

“Oh you of little faith, do you still not believe.” (Matt. 14:31)
Jesus words to Peter as He attempted to walk on water to Jesus.

Another book worth looking at:
http://www.biblegateway.com/